A Good Morning
by teenage-dirtbag
Summary: Waking up and finding Blair in his dining room was the last thing Nate Archibald thought of when he heard voices echoing through the halls. Now he's going to have to deal with what she brought from the city and what he left behind from it.


**A/N:** I could never understand why the writers made Nate run to Dan and Jenny for help, whom he probably only knew existed when Serena started dating Dan, instead of Blair and Serena, who were his friends since like _ever_. Here's a one-shot to appease that thought. Hope you like it! :)

**A Good Morning**

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Nate Archibald trudged groggily down the stairs. The comfortable sleep last night, nestled in his 500 thread count Egyptian cotton beddings and the scent of juniper wafting through the air, was a welcome change from his squatting and Brooklyn days. He heard voices emanating from the dining room, which he dismissed as his mother and some other bored housewife bonding over tea.

"Good morning, dear," Anne greeted. Nate yawned, nodding in her direction. Seeing the silhouette of the big stack of pancakes made him hungry. He grabbed a plate and started serving himself some.

"Hello, Nate." Nate almost dropped the plate to the ground. A pancake flew from his fork to the other side of the table. He'd recognized that sweet, venomous voice everywhere. He glanced at his mother, who only wore a look of concern on her face.

"Blair," Nate said, holding on to his plate. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, after you didn't show up to school yesterday, I wondered where you were," Blair pouted, and Nate had to stifle a laugh. Her hair was perfectly combed, her plain cotton sundress accessorized with only a colourful array of bracelets and her ruby ring—a far cry from her diamonds and twenty four carat gold necklaces. He even noticed she wasn't wearing heels. Ever the drama queen, he knew Blair had to dress for the setting and the occasion. It was tasteful of her to drab down her wardrobe for a visit to the Archibalds, but Nate had to wonder why she came all the way to the Hamptons on a school day.

"I'll leave you two to talk," Anne said, excusing herself graciously. Nate realized that the click-clacking of his mother's heels matched the thumping of his heart perfectly. He was almost afraid to hear what Blair had to say next.

After his mother had gone, Nate turned to Blair, who was helping herself to some orange juice. "Seriously, Blair. What are you doing here?"

"Why aren't you going to school?" Blair questioned.

"Because I'm staying here?" he argued.

"Chuck offered you a place; why didn't you stay with him?"

"I'd rather skip school than stay with," he then said with a condescending tone, "_Chuck Bass_."

"But you'd rather stay with the hipsters in _Brooklyn_," Blair shot back.

"Dan is a good person. He's my friend."

"And so is little Jenny, I suppose?"

"You're here to argue with me about Jenny? God, Blair—"

"No, you arrogant leadhead. You've known the Humphreys, what, a week? And you didn't think of coming to Serena or even _me_?" Nate sat there, stunned. Blair and Serena were a part of a life he had lost; he was too embarrassed to go back there. "I told you I would help you, even though that stupid troll Vanessa fucked plan A up."

"I can handle this on my own," Nate said adamantly.

"No, you can't," Blair answered, "listen, I know you're screwed right now, but don't screw it up even more by throwing away the chance to fix it."

Nate gave a heavy sigh. "How?"

"Well, for starters, you're staying with me. And you're going back to school," Blair said firmly.

"I've never seen you so passionate about school before," Nate joked. Blair glared at him.

"And since my mother is too wrapped up in her own world to care about what I do, you won't have to worry about a thing. Anne told me your lawyers are working on the case, and they're very close to finding a break." Nate noticed the softness in her voice.

"My mother put you up to this," he said, glancing at the empty hallway.

"She said I was the only one you listened to," Blair chuckled softly. Nate hated to admit that it was probably true.

"Okay," he acquiesced. He noticed she started fiddling with her ruby ring, a habit she did when she was struggling to say something.

"Why didn't you talk to me?" she asked sadly.

"I don't know," Nate admitted, "we were broken up."

"Yeah, but that didn't mean I stopped caring about you. We used to be best friends too, remember?"

Nate looked back on the summers he spent with Blair in this house. They would leave trails of popsicle sticks on the floor and hide under the mahogany desk of his father's study when the housekeeper started picking up after them. He remembered his eighth birthday; Serena baked him a chocolate cake and he had gotten his first real kiss from Blair. He'd cheated on her and treated her like crap, yet, here she was, asking him to come back to Manhattan for _his_ sake, not hers.

"I'll never forget," he answered, smiling. She grinned and threw him a strawberry. He found himself excited for the ride back home.

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Please review! :)


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